Tree Spirits 2: Song of the Solstice Grove

While working on my Myths and Legends challenge, the idea for a series of quilts based on the tree spirits throughout the seasons came to me. Here, three tree spirits are emerging from their trees to celebrate the solstice. Shortly before completing this piece, a hike just before summer solstice introduced me to the starflower, a "spring ephemeral"--a wildflower that blooms and fades here in Maine for just a short period of time. These flowers grace the meadow floor. I wanted to convey a sense of looking into the forest, into misty depths of the woods.

For this piece, I used thinned acrylic paints on sheer fabric to create two panels that hang in front of the background quilt. The sides and bottoms of the layers are quilted, and all are joined at the top under the tree canopy. The top panel features heavily textured treetrunks, a verdant meadow floor and rocks couched onto the surface. For more on how this piece was constructed, and to see the "underneath" layers, come back in late August for a link to my soon-to-be blog, which will have all sorts of neat photos and detail shots.